titan_uranus

I’m not going to comment on the umpires themselves but 100% agree re Trac. He was being held at every stoppage, blatantly. Credit to JJ for helping him out with blocks and to Trac himself for working through it.

Too early to think about this rationally but I do support the Tomlinson for Petty move. Even if he’s fit to play, he shouldn’t be right now. Thought to be given to Spargo and Brown but that can come later.

6 - Petracca 5 - Gawn 4 - Melksham 3 - Viney 2 - Rivers 1 - McVee

I’m with @praha. One of the best wins I’ve seen live. Up there with the 2018 finals. The confidence we must take from that. We were thoroughly outplayed for large chunks of the middle two quarters against a top 3 side but to continue ti believe and to fight so hard to wrestle the game back is huge. Melksham getting deserved credit bur please can we all just reflect on how unbelievably good Petracca is. 26 touches, 4 goals, 7 clearances, all whilst Brisbane mercilessly held and scragged him all night. If he can be this good more forward than mid in a side without Clarry…just imagine when Clarry returns… IMO it was no coincidence that their second quarter run started when Trac and Viney were stuck on the bench for ages. Along with Gawn, they were just outstanding tonight. Rivers to the midfield. Please. More of it. We need more mids. Brisbane got on top through the middle in part because we just can’t go with that many mids given the current make up of our side. The stunning win will distract from a few major issues - our inability to stop their transition from back half to scores was concerning, as was our reversion to long bombs to the heads of stationary forwards. But when we move the ball even 20% quicker we look so much better. Hopefully this is the kickstart of belief, confidence and form we need to run through into September.

Don’t you think this will be a target game for them, too?

GWS says hi. But I agree. In Round 2 they scored 5-odd goals from stoppage, many early, and that was the game. When we have beaten them in 2021-22 we dominated the middle and prevented their dangerous forwards from being involved through lack of supply. No Dunkley helps offset no Oliver but they replace Dunkley with Lyons whereas ostensibly Woewodin has Oliver’s spot. So we are on the back foot a bit there. If we bring midfield heat, I’m confident, but only slightly. This is going to be really tough IMO.

Dogs’ next 3 are Essendon, GWS, Richmond. Are they in danger of missing the 8?

Edit: wrong thread Interesting result for Fremantle. Competition might start to worry about Sydney?

What word? And why suss? It’s a complex hamstring. What is suss about that?

Confirmed dropped: “We have been transparent that we are continuing to look for ways to be more effective in front of the ball,” GM of AFL Football Performance Alan Richardson says. “We really like the impact that Brodie is having in the ruck, but think he would benefit from more time as a forward. “To provide him with this opportunity, he will spend some time in the VFL and focus on refining his forward craft. “To Brodie’s credit, he is completely aligned and on board with this plan. This is a testament to Brodie’s character and the type of person he is.”

I don’t agree, for reasons I’ve previously written. But you can of course tell me to get stuffed. I said I wanted more - I got it. I’m more than happy to acknowledge that. It’s undeniably exciting to think about what we might see on-field if our fitness levels peak in the way the club hopes they will.

Round 19 Dees v Crows surely in the list too!

@binman @A F - this is what I've been crying out for. I have wanted to see someone from the club say something to support your theories that we added training volume through the middle of the year. Here it is. Interestingly though, this reads to me as though Yze is suggesting we didn't do this last year.

I suspect we are taking an opportunity to rest Grundy and to play a slightly more mobile side against Brisbane on the G. This IMO doesn’t necessarily signal the end of the two ruck strategy. However, if we beat Brisbane, it’s going to create an awkward situation trying to get Brodie back in. Whatever the reason or outcome, those who have bagged Goodwin for “playing favourites” or “being stubborn” or for not rotating players in 2022 should be happy with this and should support it.

Thanks @RyanD. A question for you: is it normal/common for someone like Oliver to run within days of an injury like this? Or at least, is it something you could imagine occurring depending on initial scans/symptoms etc?

Whatever you think of Brown, you might be interested to know that his 2023 season averages in most metrics are higher than Schache's career averages (disposals, marks, goals, score involvements). Ben Brown and Josh Schache AFL Stats Comparison (footywire.com)

Others have already mentioned this but I genuinely have no idea what you are trying to argue here. Are you upset that we didn’t belt the Suns because they’ve been belted by other clubs recently? Just a reminder: 1. Brisbane lost to Hawthorn 2. Collingwood struggled against West Coast 3. St Kilda nearly lost to West Coast 4. Essendon is the only side to lose to Fremantle in the last 5 weeks 5. Geelong drew with Sydney who are currently bottom 4 6. Port have a relatively low percentage for a side on a 13-game win streak. 7. The Dogs lost to Gold Coast. 8. Off the top of my head we have 5 wins by 50+ points. I genuinely don’t get why you think this is any sort of issue for us. Clearly our issue isn’t beating bad sides. It’s beating good ones.

It’s stupid that he hasn’t been nominated but it’s because nominations go to stand out performances and Judd’s been stunningly consistent without necessarily destroying a game. He deserves one before the year is out. Hopefully he can snag one.

Mate he was running around with a lacerated kidney that night. His 2023 form before that game has been strong. Whether or not he gets back in depends on our current backline’s ongoing form but IMO he’s far from “cooked”.

I don't think we can or should drop Rivers. IMO he offers positional flexibility and should be rotated between the backline and midfield as part of our ongoing attempts to revitalise our midfield. He's also been very good for most of the year and even if he was down this weekend that can't cost him his spot.

Adelaide are so incredibly overrated. One win away from the Adelaide Oval all year, and that was Hawthorn by 3 points.

…do a barrel roll?

At the absolute least, someone who deserves a spot in our backline. Let alone someone who has played forward for the last month and then in a quarter as sub against a flagging side didn’t register a stat. Who are you dropping from our currently in-form backline to put Smith in there?

[censored] I hate these sorts of posts. For starters, @fr_ap didn’t say they’d be happy if we don’t win the flag. It’s not “accepting mediocrity” to enjoy a H&A win even if there is room for improvement. If all you do is sit there and derive joy from flags, you are going to be disappointed 99% of the time as an AFL supporter because flags are so hard to win. It’s perfectly reasonable to enjoy a H&A win, still want us to do better, still consider our overall goal is to win the flag, and still be disappointed if we don’t win the flag.

Getting 4 points in a classic "8 point game" is hugely important when the reality is we've been struggling for form post-bye. Have just completed three straight games away from the G, now we have 5 of the next 6 at home (the only other game being vs North in Hobart). A good chance here, starting with the ultimate test in Brisbane, to build into some form. But pocketing this win before the Brisbane-Adelaide quinella was critical, no matter how we did it.